The Memory that Kuroko Forgets
by Queen Keri
Summary: Wherein there is no such thing as Generation of Miracles only the Front Sitters Club and Kuroko's ability is not having so little presence but forgetting things from time to time. Permanently.
1. the fading starts

"You just act a lot like your sister."

That was his first line when I opened the door to my new room and said hi to him.

"I don't get that a lot." I said and settled down my bags on the unoccupied bed—it's been thoroughly readied already; with pillows (that has Barney prints on it), comforter (Barney prints again_, god,_ it's freaking BARNEY) and mattress (no prints, yes!)—which is surprisingly normal, given the fact that my older sister was the one who placed my stuff in there. She's always been weird. And over-protective. And I guess I have to give her the _I-am-not-a-kid-anymore-so-stop-putting-barney-printed-stuff-in-my-possessions _talk again.

"No, seriously. It's like you're her twin."

"NO." I said firmly. "We're nothing like each other. I am _adopted_."

"Oh." He paused. "I'm sorry. I've never thought of that."

"_Of course you didn't."_ I said in my mind and took of my shoes.

"I'm tired. I am going to sleep first." I muttered but I knew it was loud enough for him to hear. The pillows looked suddenly appealing to me so I lay down and engulfed myself with supreme comfort.

"Sure. It was nice to meet you."

There was silence.

"I'm Kuroko, by the way."

And that was what I heard before my eyes finally found their sleepy state, my lashes kissing the tips of my eyes.

I wasn't even able to tell him my name.


	2. the fading stops

_First story in here ^^ Uhm this also posted in AFF (under the UN _keri) but with other characters playing the roles :D _

_So no, I did not copy this if your're wondering. _

_I am also new to the fandom of Koruko no Basuke so please pardon the extreme OOCness ^^;;_

* * *

It wasn't even dawn yet when I woke up, or maybe it's still evening but then I don't really know how many times had passed since I've decided to sleep after moving in on this new dormitory. I frowned as I made my way to the bathroom, keeping my feet intact with the ground and balance. What if I already missed a whole day of classes? Great. Way to go proving just how independent I am! If my sister hears about that I'm sure as hell that she will visit me again. Hurray for the queen of protective neesans.

Or no.

As it turns out, and if the digital clock on my roommate's table isn't lying, not that it can literally, it was still evening and I am safe. Only five hours had passed. 7pm. Cool. No wonder I am starving.

I fetch a hoodie from one of my unpacked bags and head down to the cafeteria; I hope they are already open since classes will officially start tomorrow anyway. A flick of light from the said place have me running towards it, only see that it is being cleaned by the janitor. No food. No drinks. No nothing. I suppose I'll need to go out somewhere and that's when I see him by the end of the wall, a milk-like carton on his hand as he happily sipped on it. What was his name again? Ku.. Ku-something. With a Ro. Kuro?

"Hey, buddy! Kuro!" I yelled and his head snapped to my direction, an eye brow raised in question. I nodded and ran to his direction; surely he knows where I can find food in this foreign place. He looks like he has been in here for a while.

"Are you talking to me?" He asks when he realizes that I was coming to him. "Because it's not _Kuro_ but Kuroko."

"Oh. My bad then. Listen do you know wher—"

"Do I know you?" He cut me off, his huge round eyes looking straight at me, and then narrowed as though I will steal his, what was that, vanilla shake? Oh please. Really? A smoothie for dinner? Uhhh, I might actually. I am so hungry at the moment, but I will not say that to him.

"We've met earlier. I'm your new roommate. Remember?" I told him, putting on my best smile. He studied my face for a moment and shook his head.

"No. I'm sorry. But…" He dug up something from his pocket and looked what's on it. "I did have been told that I'll have a new roommate. His name is Aomine," he gave me a look again and showed a picture to me, "are you Aomine-kun?"

And there was indeed an Aomine on his picture. That's my _face_.

"Yes. But… wait, where the hell did you get that?" I asked him, do I look mortified now? Because I think I am. That was my middle school grad picture that I loathe so much because of my ridiculous curtain-like bangs and only my sister was supposed to have a copy of…. it.

Oh. It all makes sense now.

"Listen, I am not going to steal the picture, but can you hand it over to me for a sec." I told him so, but of course I am going to steal the picture, it was mine in the first place anyway.

Kuroko shook his head, "No, sorry." He deposited the picture on his pocket. "But you know what, you're really like your sister. She's your sister, right? Momoi? Your tastes in bed sheets are very similar._ Barney_"

Are we really having this conversation?

"No, ugh. I know. But not anymore. I don't like the freaking Barney anymore." I repeated impatiently. And then my stomach growled, and I'm just too embarrassed to even react, I am aware that I turned red though.

"Well, you sound hungry. Let me take you to some place. Momoi-san did tell me to take care of you." He tells me as we start walking, and even though I am still kind of pissed that my sister has yet again acquired a way to establish a connection to anywhere near me (how is she doing that), I followed Kuroko out in midst of this chilly night and when asked what I want to eat, I told him I want hot, hot, hot noodles which brought us to a Ramen stand just a few blocks away from the dorm. He tells me that my sister was actually his classmate before he transferred on our school and that's why I kind of looked familiar when he saw me.

Momoi, my foster's parent's only daughter, is a nice and crazy woman. That's all I can say. She has this certain effect on people—they can't forget her once they've met her because she's just too different. Bright pink hair. Fair skin. I did wonder how Kuroko can even tell that she's my sister, although not biological. Our complexion's not even the slightest bit close. Still, she's mys sister. I mean, we argue once in a while (okay, maybe most of the time) but I care for my her and I know that many people admire her as much as I do. Kuroko's just probably one of them.

I was on my second bowl with steaming beef and egg toppings when Kuroko told me that we should head back now since it was almost our curfew. I nodded, having no guts to argue with him when the meal I just ate was his treat, like a welcome gift for me, he said.

So we walked back before the clock hits 9pm, ran back rather because hey, you know how boys are, competing and all that stuff, I've always been competitive which I later regret because I almost emptied my stomach when I felt like vomiting since I forced myself to run, earning Kuroko lots of soft laugh.

"Well, here we are." Kuroko says, still kind of amused by my rather disgusting close-to-puking incident, I groaned in return but I wasn't mad, quite entertained too myself if I'm to be a little honest… which I am not by the way. In turns out that I forgot my keys so it really is a God-sent blessing when I found Kuroko earlier at the cafeteria hallway. He opens the door and as soon as we're inside, I collapsed on my bed, still with my jacket and trainers on.

"Are you going to sleep like that?" He asks me, and I can see the smile on his voice. He's not so bad, after all, even if he's like a pawn to my sister which has the purpose of looking over me. Well that irks me a little because it looks like I am even older than he is.

"I will sleep just fine." I said with muffled voice because the pillow was pressed right in my face.

"Don't blame of you wake up smelly later. With that vomit and all."

"I did not vomit, okay?" I hissed. I heard a few shuffle of clothes and blanket before the lights clicked off and bathed the room in darkness. Damn it's cold.

"Good night, then." Kuroko said unsurely after a while as though he was uncertain if I am still awake or asleep already.

"Hn." I groaned lightly just to tell him that I heard him. And for the second time that day, I slept peacefully wrapped with thick blankets and a company of a good fellow.

I woke up with the irritating sound of an alarm clock hammering my ears and that was a bad start. I hate alarm clocks so I've never bought one myself and that explains it actually isn't mine but Kuroko's. I groggily unwrapped myself from the blankets and stumbled out of the bed, still with my coat, and shoes and all… I'm surprised I was able to sleep like that. But then again, I am Aomine Daiki and that explains a lot.

Kuroko was nowhere to be found on the room but I heard the shower from the bathroom running so I suppose he is taking one, well does that mean that he woke up even before his alarm goes off? Praise to that. His uniform is neatly spread on the bed, ready to be wore whereas mine is probably still on the unpacked bags, folded, not pressed and well… _unpacked_. Hurray for the first day of school.

Just not to spite myself wearing wrinkled uniform, I unpacked my things and tried to straighten my clothes, which proved to be impossible anyway without an iron doing the job. I looked around and spotted an ironing board neatly folded beside the bookshelf. I assume it was Kuroko's. Well, he wouldn't mind me using them now, would he?

And that started my undying grimace and hatred for ironing machines. Momoi's mom does the job all the time so why I can't I? It appears like a certain skill is required in order to neatly iron your clothes without burning them to crisp. That's when Kuroko came out of the bathroom, just a towel on his waist, and almost shrieked uncharacteristically when he sees smoke from my uniform and a spark of a little, well_, fire_. He ran to my direction and shoved me out of the way to unplug the said machinery. His arms are strong despite of their thinness.

"What the hell are you thinking?" He yells almost angrily, snapping his head back to me.

I blinked. "Uh… ironing?" I feel a twinge of guilt creeping out of my conscience. "Well okay, I am sorry. I was just trying and I really can't ask anyone else for help."

"Do I look _invisible_ to you?" He asks, bit calm now.

I refrain from saying _'sometimes',_ "But you were in bathroom." I said instead. My voice felt unusually tiny and it's stupid.

"You could have waited." He says irately and that does it, the guilt has now taken over my entire, I stayed silent.

A few moments pass and neither of us said a word, only the train of smoke running from the burnt sleeve of my uniform was the only sign that time isn't frozen.

"Well, give me your uniform, I'm going to do it. You don't have to watch." He says finally, "look at the time. We're going to be late."

I nod simply and handed him over my other uniform and then he started ironing it. I am grabbing my towel and toiletries to the bathroom when Kuroko tilted his head and asks me, in a wondering, soft voice. "What's your name by the way? You're Momoi's brother, aren't you? I believe you're my new roommate."

I stand there stunned. "I uhh…" _What, is he still mad so he pretends not to know me?_

"Well?" He asks, waiting for me to answer. He looks… serious.

"I'm Aomine Daiki." I said simply and walked to the bathroom as fast as I can.

When I came out, a voice buzzed from the intercom. "Paging Daiki Aomine-kun from room 403, please proceed to the guidance office immediately. Again, paging Daiki Aomine-kun from room 403, please proceed to the guidance office immediately."

I looked at my now pressed uniform lying on my unmade bed and found Kuroko missing from the room. A post it was attached on my blazer.

"_I've gone first. Nice to meet you, Aomine-kun. The name's Kuroko Tetsuya by the way. See you later."_

The note reads. I pick it up fold it neatly before getting dressed. After doing so, the voice form intercom called for me again so I grabbed my book bag and deposited Kuroko's note on my blazer's pocket.

I knocked at the Guidance Office's door and heard a voice telling me to come in which I did and turned to close the door again.

"Hello, Aomine-kun, " He has a mop of red hair and a petite, short figure that's probably too slender for a man's, nevertheless he looks professional especially with those classy, black-rimmed glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. He looks young too, probably on his early-twenties with fine taste in fashion. "I believe we've never met before. I'm Seijuro Akashi, the guidance counselor. Pleased to meet you." He shook my hand with a smile which reminds me of a cat. "Have a seat." He offers so I sat on the seat in front of the counselor's table.

"Charmed." I say bluntly, and that's probably a not very good idea when you're talking to a counselor. "Err, I mean I am much pleased to meet you too." I fidgeted on my seat and he probably noticed because he gave me a reassuring but _I-know-what-you-did-last-summer-kind_ of smile.

"I really don't mind students talking informally." He tells me, retrieving a folder on his drawer and rested it on the table. "However, it is not that why you are called in my office."

He slid the said folder towards me, as if urging me to take it. My right hand unconsciously lifts to touch the folder but Akashi pulled it back to his direction by then, making me withdraw my hand almost instantly. "You have met Kuroko Tetsuya, I presume." He says.

I look at him with curious eyes but nod anyway. He continues "Then I believe you have encountered his unusual behavior…"

"Unusual behavior?" I repeated, somehow at lost because well, we've just met, what do I know about him in the first place? "Like how he can wake up even before his alarm goes off or how he can perfectly iron my uniform?"

Akashi shook his head, amused. "No, not really. But I guess that can be considered an abnormal behavior for boys in your age."

I hid a smile by looking down. I like this guidance counselor already. The one at my last school was a total kill joy unmarried woman that looks like she's always having her period. But I know she's menopause already, she's fifty-ish!

"Then what do you mean by _unusual_?" I asked.

By my question, Akashi's aura changed. He stares at me extremely and says "This is quite a serious case."

I gulped nervously. Maybe I do not like him after all.

"How many times did he forget you this time? Once? Twice?" He says, words sound like they would like to mock me. "Thrice?" He says after glancing at my direction.

"I don't understand." I tell him finally, if he's trying to tell me something and I am not picking up with his pace then he should just stop beating around the bush. Confusion is the only thing I am capable of having at the moment.

He sighs and drawls. "Your roommate has this, what we might call… _a special condition_."

When he said this I looked at him. I only stared at him and I know it not just confusion anymore that can be seen in my face but also unlimited source of "_so what?" _questions. To hell with anxiety, I am not having a breakdown right now. "Can we please just get to the point? I have a class and I am ridiculously taking too much time in here when it seems like you'll keep on having me walk on your riddles."

"Kuroko loses his memories from time to time, permanently." He says finally. "He doesn't forget everything, just events, meetings… _people_. It varies from time to time, but mostly it's the latter. It is a very uncommon disorder. One in a million chances and Kuroko got it. A case of amnesia, only a hundred times worse."

That again, explains a lot.

"Oh." I pause. "He did forget me earlier." I say simply. "He asked who I was when we already met each other last night."

"Aren't you concerned?" He asks and then offers me the folder again, this time allowing me to touch and see what the contents were. I hold the documents in my hands that has Kuroko's profile (168 cm, I am taller than him, obviously) and the details about his so-called unknown disease. My mouth was already dry reading before I can even notice it. I didn't understand anything about the once with lots of medical jargons and focused on Kuroko's life instead.

"Concerned?" I echoed, flipping pages with Kuroko's pictures on it, from his elementary days up to what he did yesterday. Well, that was creepy in a way. Does he even know that he's being observed like this?

I was sidetracked for a while when Akashi tapped his fingers on the table.

"You've met him. How many people who are concerned about him can you imagine?" He asks, resting his arms to the table at once and leaned forward to me. His eyes deep behind the black rimmed glasses he wears.

"A few? Anyway, he's sick and you're telling me about it and I don't know why." I said. He raised his eyebrows and leaned back to his chair, looking quite amused. "What?" I asked.

"You are his roommate." He says flatly. "And to avoid further _"what the hell is wrong with my roommate"_ talks which could have happened if I didn't call you in here for a conversation, I am formally informing you of Kuroko's deficiencies. I get tired of room transfer requests every semester, every month, hell… every week. You get my drift?"

"That sounds hellish." I cringed then paused. "And irritating?"

"_Loathsome_." He corrected.

"So the way it sounds… you just threw me on a mine field, hell or something. Because I am roomed with the person everyone avoids." But no, I am not at all bothered by it. I mean, so what if he forgets every time? We'll just _carry on, _won't we?

"Indeed." He says. "But you see, you've been chosen rather being _'thrown' _for this situation because if there's one person in here that can be called close to Kuroko, it would be you."

"Me?"

"You're sister, Momoi…" I start to wince. Is she involved in this too? Nevertheless, Akashi ignored me and continued. "No matter how many times he forgets everything else, she is the only person Kuroko remembers. He does not forget about her."

"That is weird… and none of by bloody business. They are match-made in heaven. Cheers." I told him flatly. "And if that's the case, why don't you make her take my place instead?"

"This is an all boys school. Is that news to you, Mr. Daiki?" Akashi says sternly, somehow a scissor managed to magically appear in his hands.

"Then what do I have to do really? You're telling me all of this. What's your poi—"

He cuts me off. "He forgets things, very important things in his life. He's never got real friends. He doesn't get to have friends at all actually. Perhaps only your sister but she's not in here right now so we turn to you. While the entire school population thinks Kuroko is a weirdo, the teachers can't bring themselves to care either. Be patient with him. Don't treat him differently. Be. His Friend. Can you do that?" His face was all serious and the atmosphere around the room just got down to the 'no-kidding' zone which alarms me in a very distressing rate because asdfhjkl even my foster parents don't give me this kind of talk and asked me to, once in my life, be serious. I AM A TEENAGER AND I AM BOUND TO DISOBEY RULES AND DENY FAVORS. That's a synonym for the phrase I DO WHAT I WANT.

But then I saw that the previous scissors on his hands were now nailed on his table. Deep.

That's mahogany.

Crap.

I gulped.

"What makes you think that I'll agree to be his errr… baby sitter?" I ask simply, just release this undying pressure in myself because I have a gut feeling that I will agree, whatever the reason for that is. Ugh, why do I even have to meet Kuroko before I've known of these things? Why did he have to be such a nice guy that I think he doesn't deserve to be in this kind of situation? He doesn't have friends? Wow. But he is such a great guy he even ironed my clothes even if he can't remember who the hell I am! Ugh. MY GUILT IS HAVING A BUFFET PARTY EATING MY CONSCIENCE RIGHT NOW. Thank you very much.

"What makes you think that you won't?" Akashi levels my stare.

"No actually. I can't even think of a proper reason why I _won't._ Happy now?" I did a face.

"Excellent." All the seriousness on his face was wiped out in an instant and has been replaced by his trademark evil smile. Oh the chills. "Now, off you go young man, take care of him. He needs it."

And just like that I am promptly shoved out of his room, in what I may even call a serious case of disrespect towards a student. It should be on the hand book.

I straightened my coat, sling the book bag over my shoulder and start walking out of the Guidance's hallway to my designated classroom. I am late, obviously. And I am scolded by the teacher, obviously again. What a great way to start the supposed thrilling 'first day of school'! And it was all because Akashi didn't even excuse me in class after all. So it turns out he just dragged me to his office without any permission. I will sue him one these days, I swear. Is he even the REAL guidance counselor? Now, I started doubting.

Anyway, so yup, the teacher is giving me a dirty look right now so I immediately walk to my seat, which is in the front. It was the only seat left for crying out loud! I glared at my new classmates and feel like they betrayed me all. Having no choice, I subtly expressed my irritated feelings by sitting heavily on the chair so it will produce a screeching-like sound when it brushed against the tiled floor. The teacher gave another look and I surrendered to silence.

It was a boring class per se. Who invented Psychology? Why must it even exist? So okay, you get the picture already— I am bored so I started examining my classmates who are the easiest to spot. On my left was a boy called Kise. He looks like a delinquent with his blonde hair that closely resembles the butter on our fridge. He catches me staring and smiled so wide like he's mouth is going to rip. He's not even listening to the teacher. I don't understand why he is sitting in front like me. Maybe he's late too.

On my right was the total opposite of Kise, he has a perfect sitting posture and black-rimmed glasses, just like Akashi's but the way he listens intently to out teacher, and how his text book was already full of notes even before the class started gave me the impression that he's the class nerd. That's why he sits in front too. Later on, I found out that his name is Midorima. Kuroko is, yes he's in my class, was beside the class nerd, listening but I can tell that he's sleepy. He spots me then smiles. I guess he still remembers me. I hope he continues to do so until tomorrow because well… it will be tiring to explain that I am his roommate over and over and over again. So yeah… we're all sitting in front! The class' sacrificial pawns in every recitation!

God help me.

It's going to be one hell of a year.

* * *

Tell me what you think of this.  
Comments please :)


End file.
